FP2: Hamilton beats Leclerc to top spot in tricky second practice for Hungarian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton ended Friday’s running for the Hungarian Grand Prix on top, edging out his Ferrari team mate Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Lando Norris in Free Practice 2.

With several teams still trying to finetune their upgrades – including Aston Martin after Lance Stroll suffered a suspension issue to bring his FP1 to an early end – many were eager to make the most of the 60-minute session, which got underway at 1700 local time.

The Silverstone-based outfit arrived in Hungary with the most significant updates, having essentially introduced a B-spec car in the hopes of gaining on the midfield, but McLaren also have a substantial new package while Red Bull have brought back their rotating rear wing.

Cadillac and Alpine were the first to head out in the breezy conditions, with Kimi Antonelli, Oscar Piastri, Franco Colapinto, Ollie Bearman and Valtteri Bottas appearing for the first time after stepping aside for their rookie counterparts in FP1.

It was quickly confirmed that Stroll would not take part as his team didn’t have enough time to repair the damage he sustained earlier in the day, leaving Fernando Alonso as the sole representative for Aston Martin.

As the Spaniard continued to provide valuable data about their heavily revised car, Leclerc set the initial benchmark of 1m 20.103s on medium tyres – around a second adrift of his soft compound run in FP1 – before Hamilton went four-tenths faster.

The Ferrari pair looked strong from the get-go, but someone who wasn’t as happy with their performance was Pierre Gasly, who reported: “Something feels wrong on the car, it’s extremely bad. It just feels broken in Turn 12. Something with the front is wrong.”

It was soon made clear that with the wind picking up, balance around the circuit was becoming a sticking point. George Russell insisted that his Mercedes felt “dreadful” and “so out of balance”, and his team mate similarly questioned the behaviour of his car as he “almost spun twice on braking”.

A more comfortable Hamilton improved his time to maintain his hold on P1, but the complaints continued for his competitors, including the second Ferrari of Leclerc, who suffered three lock-ups in the first 20 minutes before returning to the pits.

Next up were the soft tyre runs, which saw Norris complete the fastest lap of the session in his upgraded McLaren, setting a time of 1m 19.228s. Just as Antonelli began to line up a response, the red flag forced him to abort his flying lap following a crash for Colapinto.

The Argentine was the first to be fully caught out by the low grip at the final corner, where he lost the rear and spun backwards into the barrier, leaving Alpine with an overnight repair job on their hands.

Once his car had been recovered, the Qualifying simulation laps resumed and Ferrari showed that they’re currently the team to beat at the Hungaroring – Leclerc shot back to the top spot, posting a 1m 18.877s, and Hamilton slotted in just 0.037s behind.

But the Briton wasn’t done yet as he cut his time down even more, opening up an advantage of more than a tenth over his team mate. With the focus then switching to long runs, his effort of 1m 18.729s remained the best of the day and he ended FP2 ahead of Leclerc and Norris.

After hitting debris shed by Alonso’s Aston Martin, Max Verstappen took fourth for Red Bull, leading Russell, Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson. Piastri was seventh, with the top 10 rounded out by Nico Hulkenberg and Arvid Lindblad.

Just missing out was the second Audi of Gabriel Bortoleto, who was followed by Esteban Ocon, an out of position Antonelli, Gasly, Bearman and the Williams duo of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz.

Finishing the order were Bottas, Alonso, Sergio Perez, and Colapinto in his damaged Alpine, while Stroll stayed in the garage for the entirety of the session.